“He’s not your typical hardworking nerdy Asian stereotype,” Jacinto says of his comedic role. “He is the complete opposite and it pushes forward a sense that not every Asian is going to be smart and hardworking.”

“His culture doesn’t make up his character,” Jacinto explains. Though the fact that he’s from Taiwan is in the script, “he’s not defined by his ethnicity, so you don’t hear him speak Tagalog or Mandarin or whatever it may be. He’s really, at the end of the day, a person, just like any other individual.” Even when Jason speaks to a friend of color, “they’re having a normal conversation as people. It’s not something you see in mainstream media at all – usually, there’s some sort of cultural joke.”

“When I asked my African Canadian friend who his favorite actors were, he didn’t necessarily name specific African American actors. He started naming just all-around actors,” Jacinto recalls. “I was like, ‘Wait a minute, why can’t I have that same thing?’ So then, I started to look at other actors like Gary Oldman, Tom Hardy, and Benedict Cumberbatch.”

“It really kills me how Asian males are being emasculated, especially in TV and film,” he says. “I’ve definitely been a victim of discrimination and that’s one of the biggest reasons that I stay in this game – so I can change that.”

“Bottom line: We are actors first. We are creators first. We are artists first,” he says. ”And by taking hold of that identity rather than being an Asian actor, we can do a lot more.”

“People in high school either feel like they’re with the cool kids in a clique or they’re isolated – there’s no in-between,” Butler says. “I wasn’t bullied or anything, but I didn’t really fit in. I think Zach has a feeling of that. Even though he’s seen as a popular kid, he’s actually really lonely. It’s that mixed with high school, where you have to put on this facade of who you are.”

“She’s superhumble and supportive and obviously has a lot of experience to share,” Dorfman said of Gomez. “A lot of us are really new to this industry and she was there as an amazing resource. She’s so passionate about this book and this story being told.”

“Try to imagine what it’s like to be this girl who’s getting bullied and is supercrushed to the point where she’d wanna take her own life,” he says. “All of our actions have consequences whether we know it or not. We never know what people are going through until something tragic happens – if they don’t talk about it.”

“Why can’t we have an Asian Brad Pitt or an Asian Ryan Gosling? Those type of roles, lead males,” he says. “I see this gap in the industry now where there isn’t an Asian leading man.”

“The other day, I came across a profile that said ‘no spice or rice’ and another that said ‘love Asian food – just not Asian men’. It was horrible, but I mean, you’ve got to laugh.”

“I think there is a lot of expectation that comes from parents of Asian decent, which they place onto their children,” he notes. “When my parents migrated to Australia for a better life, they wanted their children to have more than what they did. They worked hard to give their children a solid education and a better start in life.”

“You’re not alone. There are many people out there just like you. You will always be loved for whoever you are.”

“Noong isang araw, aking nakita ang isang profile na nagsasabi na ‘walang pampalasa o kanin’ (‘no spice or rice’) at isa pa na nagsasabi na ‘mahal ko ang pagkaing Asyano - hindi nga lang ang mga Asyanong kalalakihan’ (‘love Asian food – just not Asian men’). Ito ay nakakagulat, ngunit, kailangan mong tawanan na lamang ito.”

“Sa tingin ko, malaki ang inaasahan ng mga magulang na mula sa may mga pinagmulang Asyano, na kanilang inilalagay sa kanilang mga anak,” sa kanyang tala. “Nang lumipat at nanirahan ang aking mga magulang sa Australya para sa isang mas mahusay na buhay, nais nila na ang kanilang mga anak na magkaroon ng higit sa kung ano ang kanilang nagawa. Sila ay nagtrabaho nang husto upang bigyan ang kanilang mga anak ng isang matibay na edukasyon at isang mas mahusay na panimula sa buhay.”

“Ikaw ay nag-iisa. Maraming mga tao na katulad mo. Ikaw ay palaging mamahalin kahit sino ka man.”

“This is so meaningful that this is going to a film about a Korean-American immigrant family, about queer Korean people,” Ahn said in the speech, which can be viewed above. “Now, more than ever, it’s so important that we support stories told by, and about, communities that are marginalized. That we tell stories about immigrants, about Muslims, women, people of color, trans and queer folk.”

He continued, “Film is such a powerful tool in humanizing these communities, so that we can’t be pushed aside [and] labeled as other. We are part of this great country, and we are undeniable.”

“We just sort of immediately clung to each other. There was an immediate chemistry,” Low, 30, told HuffPost. “We were trying to create the thing that we wish we had when we were young.”

“We loved this kind of storytelling, and we wanted to bring it to things that we’re passionate about, which have a lot to do with our identities,” Low said. “We’re both queer, we’re both Asian, we’re both radio producers, so it was like, how can we make something that’s informed by all of those things and bring them together?”

“We went through a laundry list of all the puns that we could possibly think of,” Tu said. “None of them really sat right because they were either too on the nose or too weird.” Eventually, they settled on the name, which Tu said “worked out great. It refers to a part of culture. It’s sort of reclaiming that.”

“We always want it to be a place where people, especially queer people, would come, listen and feel affirmed,” Low said. “One thing we really try to do is let people tell their own stories in a way that engages in both what is difficult about their experience, and also what is joyful.”

“I just really want to put something good and positive into the world,” Tu said, “and this accomplishes that, 100 percent.”

“Now we’re seeing a kind of normalization of gay,” Russell Westhaver told me over the phone. He was careful not to imply that gay lives were adversity-free today, but just that there’s an increase in recognition of same-sex rights in the West. Westhaver is an Associate Professor at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, and he has spent many years writing about and studying the circuit scene as a participant and observer, though he admitted his last real party was 2003’s ｢Black and Blue｣ in Montreal. “I think as we become normalized we can occupy public spaces in these somewhat more comfortable ways,” he explained. “The need for collective confirmation, these sub rosa or hidden or alternative spaces becomes less of an issue.”

“For those brief hours, you’re the majority. You feel the power on the dance floor,” Stephen Pevner, the executive director of The Saint at Large told me from his office in New York. (The Saint at Large produces ｢The Black Party｣ each year.) “I think [the circuit] follows wherever gay people who feel oppressed are gaining a mental picture of where they could be going.”

“Americans tend to emasculate Asian men,” Kim says, “so when you’re gay and Asian, you’re expected to speak in a hushed whisper, if at all. When strangers meet me, they expect me to be sweet and understated, so I make sure I serve them the complete opposite dish.”

QUEERTY: How often do people ask you where your from and how do you respond?

KIM: I was born in Flushing, Queens and have never been to Korea, but because of the way my face looks, I am charged with answering for my Korean-ness, instead of being an American human that just happens to not be white. It’s absurd because it’s just another little way white people make sure Asians feel like second class citizens. My favorite is when they find out that I’m Korean and they ask “North or South?” I always say “North” and blankly stare at them until their faces contort and explode with shame.

What are some of the most annoying misconceptions you’ve heard about gay Asian men?

People assume that we are all bottoms, and that’s just not true. Some of us are power-bottoms! And tops, and vers, and asexual, and greedy little leather pigs. What I’m trying to say is that it should be obvious that Asian gays are as sexually diverse as white gays, even if you don’t see them portrayed in your media as such. And by “media,” I do mean “gay porn.”

What about those dudes who write “No Asians” on their dating profiles? Why is saying stuff like that racist? And what about those people who insist it’s not about race but rather “preference?”

You can call it what you want, but it’s straight up disrespect and I’m not having any of it. People think they can be casually racist to Asians and it be totally OK because you don’t see us clapping back. Well, here’s me clapping back: If you’ve never asked yourself why you prefer what you prefer, then you might as well be cattle.

Idiots who say “No Asians” are the same trash gays who say “No Fats, No Fems, Masc only” and other basic Grindr sh*t like that. It’s usually white gays (surprise!) that are enslaved to the heteronormative notions of shaming femininity and praising masculinity, which is insane because, hello, WE ARE GAY!

You’re dating a white guy from Minnesota (where I’m from, BTW!). Have you experienced any challenges being an interracial couple?

Firstly, congrats on being from Minnesota. I’ve traveled all around the Midwest, and you guys seem to be doing the whole “white thing” right. I’ve had the best time meeting my boyfriend’s family and friends in Minneapolis. People seem to be woke, without being self-congratulatory, which is a difficult balance to achieve.

Frankly, the only roadblock we’ve faced is from my mother, who is lovely but does not speak a lick of English, and she’s been an American for 35 years. I guess she figured that I’d learn it, make a bunch of money, then take care of her... So I guess what I’m trying to say is that she better get hooked on some phonics, quick.

How do we, the LGBTQ community, begin to tackle the issue of white supremacy in our culture?

We must tackle white supremacy in our culture by learning from the mistakes of white feminists. We must wake up and stand up for all oppressed groups, intersectionally, starting with women. If sexism and male supremacy is not fixed first, then we have no hope for anything else because oppression trickles down. The abused turn around and abuse those more vulnerable, quickly forgetting the lessons we’ve learned.

Especially during a volatile and confusing time under our current administration, we must all band together and fight hate and fear as a united front. And I think the way to do that is through more communication and exposure. If you care for someone who is a gay Asian man or trans Latina woman or a Black bisexual, you’re more inclined to use your vote to protect them from institutionalized hate.

Is there anything you would like to add?

Privilege, in all its forms and in itself is not a bad thing. We are all more privileged than others in different ways. It’s how we decide to engage with it that defines our character. Some people are so willing to believe that they are the victims of their story that they choose to be willfully ignorant of how much better they have it than so many others in our country, much less the world. It’s not a crime to be privileged, but it is criminal to ignore the existence of it.

Why do you combine sport and performance art?

Yuki Kobayashi: For me, sport and performance work are very close. The aspect of using the perception of physicality, following your intuition before you think something and how you occupy space and time are similar. Maybe the difference is that in the performance there is no opponent, no winner or loser and, while there are some rules, you can expand or reduce them by yourself and create by yourself. In the performance, action and emotion become very significant materials for making the work.

What are you trying to do with your work?

Yuki Kobayashi: When I went to Florida to play tennis there weren’t many Asian guys and I didn’t see many black guys either. I felt a little bit weird in that situation and when my friends and I tried to join in socially, there weren’t a lot of acceptable situations for us to be involved in. I was a teenager at the time so I didn’t take it too seriously but now I look back it was a little bit weird.

I want to change people’s prejudices. Humanity and biological stuff won’t change – people’s physicality is really different and it depends on how you’re born, but it’s about changing the way people think and breaking those boundaries. I don’t like using the word discrimination but it’s about how you think about everyone else and how you think about yourself – it’s more like self-discrimination. For example, ‘I’m Asian so I can’t really win in sports against stronger people.’ I want people to break down those kinds of boundaries and I want to say: ‘No, don’t think like that, you can do it!’ I think you just have to win. If you win everyone in the audience is going to think, ‘If this Asian guy can win, I can too.’ Winning is the proof and evidence that you can do it. It’s a good way of opening up people’s minds and changing their negative thinking into a positive mental attitude.

What took you from painting on a canvas to making yourself the art?

Yuki Kobayashi: I wanted to show how to make artwork that didn’t have to be painting or installations; it can also be only your body. Performance is better for communicating because it’s more direct. It’s one on one and eyes to eyes so you can feel things from the audience and it’s the most direct way of expressing yourself to someone in that moment. When I’m performing I can see every single person in the audience’s face – that’s why it’s more comfortable for me to do that. I like performing or otherwise why would I do it? I also feel a duty and a responsibility to try and bring about changes. I may be wrong, but I do believe that.

Why do you wear what might be considered typically female costumes?

Yuki Kobayashi: I want to experience what people are feeling and understand how people are looking at sexism and racism – that’s why I wear those costumes. I want to totally change my body’s identity. It’s not about my body needing to be female; I know myself that I have the body of a man. The question is how can you look more neutral? The idea of clothes as an identity and that what you wear is down to your preference is common, but in sports, you have to wear a certain costume. So women have to wear a skirt in tennis and at Wimbledon the players have to wear all white clothes. Those kinds of traditions and rules are pushing people’s identities in one direction. That was what gave me the first idea of starting to wear female clothes and playing sports in gallery spaces.

Did you ever feel like you were having an identity pushed onto you in the world of sport?

Yuki Kobayashi: I would never be pushed by anyone to wear anything I didn’t want to so I’ve never felt bad. But I’ve seen it happen to other people – that’s why I started doing this. People are really fascinated with clothes. For example, female tennis players are expected to wear sports bras, but some don’t and you can see their nipples and people comment on it. Those kinds of issues make me feel really strange like, why are people going crazy about that? It made me think about stadiums almost changing into strip clubs and that made me feel really, really weird. Why are people looking at athletes like that? It’s a sport. I don’t like the sexualisation and the sexism. I want there to be more respect and for people to see the sports. It’s just about winning and losing.

Why did you choose a cheerleader’s outfit for one of your performances?

Yuki Kobayashi: I played sports but I had never tried cheerleading before. When I choose clothes there are a few things I look for: first is whether I like it and I want to wear it. The second is how does it fit on my body? More like a modelling mentality. Then I think about the ideas, the culture and concept of those clothes and the message you send when you put them on your body. Finally, I think about how it works with the concept of neutrality.

That’s why cheerleader’s outfits are nice. Cheerleaders are in a really weird position. They’re performing in the same stadium and on the same stage as the players, but somehow people don’t think they’re athletes. They’re always there in the gaps or in the break time when the teams are taking a rest and they have to get up and perform. It’s an ironic situation to be in. Sometimes the players are kind of tacky – they’re too excited and full of testosterone, but the boys cheerleading with the girls seem much more gentle. I feel like the male cheerleaders are always there, supporting the women, throwing and catching them. They’re still strong but they’re kind gentlemen. I really like that idea.

Do you ever feel vulnerable when you’re performing?

Yuki Kobayashi: In Asian countries, they always think that nudity isn’t good to show and that it’s not really art. For me, it’s not good to compromise an artist’s work. I want to break the walls of the limits of showing artwork in a gallery space and that's why I started to use more nudity. I don’t think my body is dirty – it’s good to show your body as a sculpture and as a piece of art. I don’t feel vulnerable when I’m performing. I don’t really care. I don’t ever feel anything negative from the audience. Whatever the situation is, it’s about just making your work. My work doesn’t change depending on the situation because I never want to compromise myself. I just do the maximum I can in that moment. I wish I could talk to every single person and tell them to be free and that you can be whatever you want to be.